In a video conference, two or more people are connected over a telephone line or other suitable two way communications channel, such as POTS, ISDN, CATV, cellular, satellite, radio or fiber optic link. Each participant sees and hears the other party, and in a teleconference generally, may additionally view commonly shared text, diagrams and photographs. Video conferencing equipment has been used for medical purposes, such as for doctor consultation and diagnosis, or routine monitoring by nurses. In addition, it is known to provide sensors to measure the patient's vital signs, such as temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure, and transfer the measurements across the telephone line from the patient station to the doctor or nurse. Other sensors, such as fetal monitors have been used to take measurements on a patient at home (or other remote site such as a hospital, school, clinic, factory, ship or the like), and to transfer the output over the telephone line to the medical office or other health provider locale.
Medical visits by a nurse (or other health care professional such as a therapist, EMT or physician) via video conference or teleconference provides an alternative to office visits by the patient, or to home visits by the nurse. Teleconference visits may be used to check up on patient recovery progress, verify medication compliance, to illustrate to a patient during the electronic visit as to how to perform home care, and the like. A teleconference visit is a convenience to the patient, especially for those patients who would have difficulty traveling to the doctor's office or hospital. A video conference visit, connecting a nurse station to a patient station via telephone, is more economical than a home visit, thereby providing both convenience and cost savings.